Two Steps Back
by Haley'sCircus
Summary: My threequel to Just a Child. I know, I'm out of control. Randall decides to bring even more trouble to the Phantomhive name, causing tension between Aberline and the other officers of Scotland Yard.


The next time Aberline visits Ciel at the townhouse, Randall comes along. He states that it's because Ciel is sly and clever, able to fool even the sharpest of men. Fred knows the real reason. He's more interested in sniffing around the house for some sort of evidence. Unbelievable, he knows, that a grown man wants to convict and innocent twelve year old child of something as awful as murder. And Fred knows that he's being positively outrageous. Randall won't listen to him however, and once the driver stops in front of the brick building he wastes no time getting out and strutting up to the door.

That butler, Sebastian Michaelis, whom Aberline finds rather peculiar, answers the door with a polite smile and informs them that the young master has retired to his room for the evening, terribly sorry.

"I demand to see the Earl Phantomhive immediately. If you do not fetch him, I will have no choice but to arrest you and him for defying her majesty's forces of law." Randall stated.

That smile twitches the slightest bit, but Sebastian bows and obediently leads them into the living area. As they climb the stairs, Randall looks around intently, as if he might find some bloodied corpse nailed to a wall or something. They are taken to the living area and once Sebastian leaves, Randall is up and examining every inch of the room.

"Sir, I don't believe you'll be finding anything here." Fred said as Randall peeked through book cases and peered into decorative cases.

"You never know, Aberline. The crazy ones like to bring their work home with them." The commissioner stated as he lifted a sofa cushion.

Fred sighed. "Yes, well, do excuse me for a moment sir." He replied as he slowly backed out of the room. Luckily, Randall was too far in his hunt for nonexistent evidence to wonder why Fred was leaving and where he would possibly be going. Sighing in relief, he slipped down the hall, following the soft, muffled voices coming from the last door on the right. That must have been where Ciel's bedroom was. He knew this was highly inappropriate, peeking into somebody's bedroom. Quite the guest indeed, but he needed to see Ciel. Not the earl of Phantomhive, Queen's guard dog. No, he wanted to catch a look at the little boy who lived here. The one that wet the bed and enjoyed being held and had vulnerabilities like any normal child should.

"Master, police commissioner Randall and Fred Aberline are here to see you." Sebastian told the boy as he gently shook him awake.

Fred smiled at the reluctant, sleepy grunt he got in reply and watched through the opening in the door. When Ciel made no signs of moving, the butler sighed and walked over, scooping the child up into his arms. Fred wasn't surprised to see that Ciel was still in diapers, Sebastian's arm supporting his padded bottom as the boy sleepily wound his arms around the older man's neck. His head rested in the crook of his neck and he returned to dozing as Sebastian carried him into the bathroom. Fred hurried back to the living area to find Randall seated on the couch once more. He must have finished his search of the room for anything that looked suspicious.

"Where did you wander off to?" The man asked.

"Oh, just the lavatory." Fred shrugged as he sat down. He ignored his suspicious glance and watched the entrance for any signs of Ciel.

It was ten more minutes or so before the boy finally made his appearance. While is clothing and hair looked ready for a formal outing, Ciel's features told a different story. The poor thing was obviously tired with a gray bag under the one eye that could be seen and a permanently cranky expression dominated his face. "You better have a very good reason for disturbing me." He said sternly as he sat down opposite of the two men. However, even after he had settled into his chair, he kept up a constant pattern of squirming and shifting. Sebastian appeared with tea and sweetened biscuits before being dismissed by the young earl.

"I'm so sorry for disrupting. I forgot that children have such early bedtimes." Randall replied, bringing an ugly scowl to the boy's face.

"Remember where you are, Randall." Ciel warned. "And it is your fault for my fatigue; constantly bothering me with ridiculous accusations. You've become quite the nuisance. I suggest you get to the point of your visit."

"Well, we've interviewed several witnesses from the last killing and all evidence gathered seems to trace right back to you, earl Phantomhive." Randall stated.

"And I suppose you've checked your sources?" Ciel asked boredly. Another fidget.

"As a matter of fact, we have. We know that you have people working for you. People who are doing your dirty work." The man hissed.

Fred frowned. "Sir, I don't thin-

"So here's what's going to happen." Randall told the boy. "You are going to contact your boys and tell them to stop their killing. The next time another body shows up, I will be marching straight to your residence and taking you back to jail where you belong."

Fred's eyes widened in surprise and he glanced over at Ciel, who looked as equally shocked and outraged. "Sir! You must be joking."

"Murder isn't funny." Randall replied evenly.

"I would warn you to actually do some research before accusing innocent people." Ciel warned. "If that is all you have to tell me, I will kindly ask you to leave." More squirms.

As Sebastian entered the room to escort them out, Fred nodded to Ciel in acknowledgement, but the boy pretended not to notice and headed down the hall to his room. Sebastian led them to the door once more and guided them out. "Do have a nice day, Commissioner, officer." He nodded before closing the door and heading back upstairs to take care of Ciel. He had a nap that he needed to finish.

* * *

An impossibly loud knock on the door sent Sebastian racing for the front hall. It was approximately half past two in the morning, three days since Randall's visit to the Phantomhive residence. Sebastian answered the door, but before a single word could leave his lips, a squad of officers entered the house. They stormed up the stairs, checking every room until they reached the end of the hall.

Ciel, who had been sleeping peacefully, was unceremoniously jarred awake as his door was slammed open. Several men from Scotland Yard infiltrated the sanctuary that was his bedroom. Even in his half asleep phase, he was quick enough to tie his eye patch around his head.

"What is going on here?" Ciel snapped. "Seba-

"There's been another murder, and I plan to follow through on my promise." Randall stated as he entered the room. "So you've got two options. You can be a good boy and let us arrest you with dignity and grace, or we will carry you out of here like a child."

"How very rude of you, barging into my home so late without invitation." Ciel told them, glaring furiously. "If plan on arresting me, then I do hope you are going to allow me to dress properly before leaving the house."

"My apologies, your highness," Randall stated sarcastically, "but seeing as you are now a prisoner in our jail, you are granted no such favors."

Ciel tensed at that. He was silent for a few moments while the men scrutinized him. "Sebastian!" He called, sighing in relief when the butler slipped into the room.

"Get these officers out of my house!" Ciel snarled furiously.

"Do that and we will start detaining those in relation with you. Don't you have a fiancé?" Randall smirked.

"Sir! Surely we can't blackmail him! The morals of that is-

"Enough out of you, Aberline!" Randall ordered. "I still don't understand why you insist on protecting this demon spawn." He turned back to Ciel. "Well boy? What's it going to be?"

Ciel sighed. "Sebastian, I order you to find out whoever is behind these murders." He stated.

His ever present butler smiled and bowed. "Yes, my lord." He obliged before exiting the room, leaving Ciel alone with London's finest.

As graceful as any nobleman, Ciel rose from his bed carefully and smoothed out his nightshirt, mostly to make sure that his diapers weren't peeking out anywhere. He silently struggled in his mind to hold down a blush that was threatening to color his face. He looked up at Randall. "I would willingly allow myself to be taken to prison on two conditions." He stated, his mind wandering to the top shelf of the dresser. Ever since the day Aberline had come to visit and he'd been caught in his diapers, he'd insisted that the thick cloths be kept hidden out of sight, for which he was thankful for now.

"Alright, I'll humor you. What is it that you require?" The commissioner asked.

"First, I demand that I be allowed to back a small case of clothing and other necessities for my stay. And second, I demand that Officer Fred Aberline be the one in charge of overlooking my cell." Ciel stated firmly.

Randall pretended to ponder it. "Sounds pretty reasonable. Or…we could just take you by force and you get nothing. Seize him." He ordered.

Men charged forward and grabbed onto the boy, rendering him helpless as cuffs were placed over his wrists. "Now move it." One of the men ordered, impatiently shoving him forward. Ciel's eyes searched the crowd of men until they locked with Fred's who frowned in utmost pity for the boy. If he looked close he could even see…fear? Was that a touch of anxiety that Ciel was showing under all of that false confidence? He watched the boy go past and as he did, Ciel lifted his head and stared directly at him, his eyes flickering to the stop drawer of his dresser before he was pushed out into the hallway. While Fred didn't quite like the idea of leaving Ciel alone, he knew that whatever Ciel needed was important and he waited patiently for the room to empty. Once he was alone, the man hurried over to dresser and looked in to find rows of neatly folded white cloths and pins. Aberline glance behind him to make sure nobody had come back before unbuckling his bag and stuffing as many diapers into it as he could, along with some pins. With that achieved, he raced back downstairs to keep an eye on the young boy.

"Take your filthy hands off of me!" Ciel ordered furiously as he was roughly shoved towards the door. "How dare you treat nobility in such a disgraceful manner! Your superiors will hear about this."

"Shut up. You're just an annoying little kid." A guard said gruffly as they dragged him out of the townhouse.

"Please be gentle with him!" Aberline ordered angrily. "In case you haven't noticed, he's not a grown man you can beat around. Hell, the clothing you have on probably weighs more than he does!"

"Though I resent his reasons, I must agree." Ciel stated. "You are hardly worthy of touching me."

"Spoiled brat." Randall growled. "Behave, or I'll send you right down to the commoners' cell where they can corrupt you all they want."

A mask of disgust covered Ciel's face and his façade finally broke when he bared his teeth and spat on the commissioner's shoe. "You can give that to the commoners' cell." He hissed.

Randall turned red with rage and before Fred could stop him, struck Ciel across the face. The force sent the delicate boy to the floor with a pained grunt and he writhed around, trying to stand up with his hands bound behind his back. His hair fell in his face and his face burned in humiliation when he heard the men's guffaws at the sight of his diapers peeking out from under his night shirt.

"Well would you look at that, boys? Looks like the guard dog still needs some training." Randall smirked in satisfaction. "Oh, how very mature you are. Nope, no children here." The laughter of other officers egged him on and soon, Ciel found himself fighting back tears.

"Enough!" Fred finally cried out, storming over and lifting Ciel up into his arms. "Look at yourselves! You're bullying a child! What kind of pathetic lowlife makes a little boy cry?" He was shaking with fury, his face dark as Ciel buried his face in the man's neck. "Now you men better step aside, so that at least one of us can remain honorable in their duty, whether they like it or not." Aberline stated. Leaving silence in his wake, Fred made his way out to one of the carriages that the men had taken over and carried the young earl into it before disappearing into the night.

Once they were safe from view of others, Aberline pulled out a key and unlocked the cuffs. "You're okay now, Ciel." He said softly. "I'm so sorry that they treated you so horribly."

Ciel nodded quietly, staring at his lap in shame. _All those men. London's finest…they had all seen him. So much shame._

"I know you want to cry." Fred stated, making the boy look up in surprise. "I can see it. Your eyes get really shiny and you look down."

"What do you expect?" Ciel huffed, quickly wiping a few tears that he had accidentally allowed to escape.

"Well, if you want, you can get the tears out now. Better to do it when it's just us than at the prison with all those people around." Aberline shrugged.

Ciel sighed and without warning, crawled into the officer's lap, making his eyes widen in surprise. He hadn't been expecting the earl to be so bold. Nevertheless, he wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him close to his chest. There was a long silence, but eventually, Fred could feel the warm tears soaking into his shirt and sense the sharp, shuddery gasps that made Ciel's whole body jerk. Never once did he show his face, and once they had arrived at the station, his tears were promptly wiped away and his face straightened out into a neutral but confident expression. It scared Fred how easy it was for the boy to hide his feelings. As they pulled up, Aberline opened up the door, but Ciel didn't move.

"Would you prefer it if I carried you inside?" The man asked carefully. "None of the other men are back yet."

Ciel's blush returned, but he slowly nodded. Just like the way he had seen Sebastian carry him, Fred scooped Ciel into his arms and propped his (wet) diapered bottom onto his arm while small, frail arms encircled his neck. He made sure he still had his bag and entered the station, carrying Ciel straight to his noble's cell. After setting the boy on the bed, he pulled the cloth diapers out of his bag and presented them to Ciel. "Can you do it yourself? Or do you require assistance?"

Staring at his lap shyly, Ciel didn't reply at first, which was okay. Fred was more than aware of how embarrassing this topic was, especially for someone as headstrong as Ciel. Finally, he received a small nod which the man took as a yes for assistance.

"Alright, how many do you usually wear to bed? Two?" He asked, earning another nod. "Very well, lie down and lift your shirt up."

Burning more red than his aunt's wardrobe, Ciel lied down and stared at the opposite wall while his wet diapers were unpinned and removed. He shivered as cool air hit his wet, warm skin and he winced in embarrassment as he heard the soaked cloths drop into an empty basin with a wet splat. Next, a wet cloth washed his privates thoroughly and Ciel did his best to shut his eyes and pretend it was Sebastian. Fred's lack of conversation helped.

"Hips up." Fred instructed and Ciel embarrassedly obeyed as two clean diapers were pushed underneath him. He lowered his bottom back onto the soft fabric and sighed in relief as it was pulled up between his legs and pinned at his hips. "There," Aberline nodded, stepping back to look over his handiwork. "not bad. Is it tight enough?" He smiled when he earned Ciel's approval.

"I will be right outside all night." He promised, then hesitated. "Unless you want me to rock you again."

Ciel was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, please." He rasped.

"I can do that." Fred smiled and took a seat on the bed, allowing Ciel to clamber back into his lap. This was becoming quite the habit. Once more, Fred cradled his head in his hand, stroking his hair. His other hand rubbed up and down Ciel's back, occasionally straying further to pat his diapers, which Aberline was convinced he enjoyed. By the time the rest of the men returned and it was confirmed that Ciel was indeed in his cell, Randall sent the rest of his men home.

The commissioner sighed and shook his head as he stared at his young officer, the man cradling the earl Phantomhive in his arms while they both slept. In his opinion, Aberline was a total fool. Only a true idiot would allow themselves to manipulated by someone as devious as the Queen's guard dog. Very well. He didn't bother waking Aberline up. In fact, he didn't even bother locking the cell. Something told him that Ciel wouldn't get far.


End file.
